Adaptable wireless power, light and automation system

ABSTRACT

A power control unit and method of use thereof for varying the supply of electricity to an electrical apparatus using a wireless communications link between a controller and the power control unit. The power control unit is adapted to alternatively communicate with the controller using a non-peer-to-peer communications standard or a peer-to-peer communications standard such as Wi-Fi Direct.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of, and claims the benefit of thefiling date of International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2012/000959,filed Aug. 15, 2012, entitled “Adaptable wireless power, light andautomation system.” International Patent Application No.PCT/AU2012/000959 claims the benefit of: U.S. Application No.61/556,751, filed Nov. 7, 2011; U.S. Application No. 61/641,166, filedMay 1, 2012; U.S. Application 61/652,485, filed May 29, 2012; U.S.Application No. 61/678,020, filed Jul. 31, 2012; and U.S. ApplicationNo. 61/678,810, filed Aug. 2, 2012; all of the above referencedapplications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the control of mains power, lightingand automation in domestic, residential and commercial applicationsusing standard portable devices which support Wi-Fi such as smartphones,tablets, laptop/notebook/netbook/ultrabook computers and similar itemsto act as a personal controller for the system utilizing a wirelesspeer-to-peer communications link or a wireless local area networkbetween the devices.

BACKGROUND

The proliferation of domestic Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) forconnecting computers to the Internet and sharing peripherals such asscanners and printers has created a ready-made framework for homeautomation. In most cases these networks use wireless technology thatconforms to the IEEE 802.11 standards, operate in accordance with theWi-Fi Alliance specifications and are generally known as “Wi-Fi”. Termssuch as “infrastructure Wi-Fi”, “Wi-Fi network”, “legacy Wi-Fi” andothers are commonly used to refer to wireless local area networkssupported by an access point device and conforming to the Wi-Fi Alliancespecifications. For ease of reference, such networks will be describedusing the term “Wi-Fi WLAN” although it will be understood that otherterminology could be used.

Conventional Wi-Fi WLANs are typically based on the presence of aspecific control device known as a wireless access point or AP. Thesedevices provide physical support for the wireless network, performbridging and routing between devices on the network and allow devices tobe added or removed from the network.

In most cases a home Wi-Fi WLAN also includes a wired or wirelessconnection to the telephone Wide Area Network (WAN) for broadbandInternet services. The devices connected to the Wi-Fi WLAN cancommunicate with each other and to the Internet via the Wi-Fi WLANaccess point that acts as a gateway for all communications.

Another Wi-Fi Alliance specification called Wi-Fi Direct can also beused to connect devices wirelessly on a peer-to-peer or 1:1 basis. WithWi-Fi Direct, a Wi-Fi WLAN access point is not required and the wirelesscommunication link is established directly between the two connectingdevices. For ease of reference, embodiments of the disclosure whichutilize a peer-to-peer communications link will be described using Wi-FiDirect, though the disclosure is not so limited. For example only,peer-to-peer communications may be established using otherspecifications such as Bluetooth, and other specifications that may bedeveloped over time.

For home automation applications such as the control of power andlighting, both methods have advantages and disadvantages. A Wi-Fi WLANwith an Internet connection allows home automation devices to beconnected to the Internet and be controlled from virtually anywhere inthe world.

It can be appreciated that a WLAN system that is connected to theInternet, or has its wireless system extended beyond the confines of acontrolled area, is open to external attacks or monitoring from thirdparties such as hackers, governments and private companies. In addition,as all communications pass through a single wireless access point, thefailure of this critical device renders the complete home automationsystem inoperable.

While there are well established regulatory procedures in place foroperational safety of electrical/electronic devices and testing regimesto ensure commercial products meet these requirements, there arecurrently none for functional safety. There are many cases where homeautomation systems based on WLANs have been compromised by third partiesand private data, including personal video footage, has been publishedon the Internet or used for commercial purposes without the permissionof the owner.

Wi-Fi Direct, by virtue of its wireless peer-to-peer or 1:1architecture, requires the communicating devices to be within areasonable proximity of each other, for example, 10-20 meters. It can beappreciated that this relatively close proximity has a greatly reducedchance of external attacks from third parties, but does not have thecapability of being controlled remotely.

There are many applications where the ability to control low securityhome automation functions such as turning on an outside light while somedistance from the home could be a convenient, but not a criticalfunction. Alternatively, there are other applications such as opening agarage door which could also be possible, but better suited to localrather than remote control due to the risk of third party intrusions.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes Radio Frequency (RF)Amplifier and Switching Circuits, a Wi-Fi System on Chip (Wi-Fi SoC),Non-volatile Memory and Power Control Circuits. The RF Amplifier andSwitching Circuits may include several components and/or arrangementsincluding power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, baluns, diplexers,printed circuit board (PCB) and/or chip aerials depending on the systemrequirements.

The Wi-Fi SoC is a highly integrated, single chip component whichincludes a Wi-Fi radio transceiver, microcontroller, system supportfunctions and a system interface for connection to externalmicrocontrollers, circuits and/or devices. The Non-volatile Memory is aread/write memory which is able to retain its stored data when power isremoved. Typically, the Non-volatile Memory would be of the type called“flash memory” and would support a data transfer connection and protocolknown as the Serial Peripheral Interface bus or SPI bus.

In one embodiment, the RF Amplifier and Switching Circuits, Wi-Fi SoCand Non-volatile Memory form a Wi-Fi Control Module, which acts as acommunications element that can be incorporated into any number ofdifferent devices to regulate and/or control power, light and automationfunctions for home, business or commercial applications. The Wi-FiControl Module provides the wireless communications link between anexternal remote controller and the co-located Power Control Circuitswhich physically perform the power, light and automation functions.

The Power Control Circuits may be directly controlled by the Wi-Fi SoCmicrocontroller or the Power Control Circuits may include a separatemicrocomputer/microcontroller depending on the application complexity.

The Wi-Fi Control Module is able to perform the wireless communicationsfunctions utilizing the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi WLAN and Wi-Fi Directspecifications which are amended from time to time. As used herein, theterm “Wi-Fi WLAN device” refers to a device configured to support theWi-Fi WLAN specification. As used herein, the term “Wi-Fi Direct device”refers to a device configured to support the Wi-Fi Direct specification,which is amended from time to time. The Wi-Fi Alliance defines “Wi-Fi”as any “wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based onthe Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11standards;” this definition is expressly adopted herein.

The personal controller can be a cellular or mobile phone commonly knownas a smartphone which supports Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi WLAN. As used herein,“Wi-Fi WLAN” refers to the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad specification andamendments or extensions. The personal controller may also support theWi-Fi Direct specification and other wireless communicationsspecifications such as Bluetooth. The personal controller is alsoequipped with location capability including Global Positioning Systemtechnology (GPS) and/or other positional technology such as, by way ofexample only, assisted GPS, synthetic GPS, cell ID, inertial sensors,Bluetooth beacons, terrestrial transmitters, and geomagnetic fieldtechniques enabling the controller to determine its relative globallocation. Unless otherwise noted, the personal controller will bedescribed in terms of a smartphone, though the disclosure is not solimited. For example only, the personal controller may be any portabledevice which can download or install by other means an applicationsprogram, have a suitable interface the user can interact with to controlthe applications program in order to execute required functions, havelocation capability, and have peer-to-peer communications capability toenable communications to be established with a power control unit.Examples of such devices include smartphones, tablets, laptops andnotebook personal computers.

There are other wireless standards available that could be used toimplement the wireless link, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Near FieldCommunications (NFC). Specifically, it should be noted that mostsmartphones also support NFC and the Bluetooth wireless specificationSIG class 2.1+EDR or later. As with Wi-Fi Direct, NFC or Bluetooth arealso peer-to-peer wireless communications methods and could be used toprovide similar capability for some embodiments of the disclosurewithout changing the originality and function of the disclosure asdescribed herein.

The functions of a smartphone, being a portable computer, are controlledby its operating system in a similar way to most other computers. Theoperating system, in conjunction with resident applications programs,known as “Apps”, executes functions in response to a user's commands. Byentering an appropriate command into the smartphone, the user can havethe appropriate App send a control message to the Wi-Fi Control Modulewhich is then passed to the co-located power control circuits forinterpretation and activation.

The Wi-Fi Control Module is a device that can form a communications linkwith a smartphone using Wi-Fi Direct and/or a Wi-Fi WLAN. It can beappreciated that when a Wi-Fi Control Module is connected to a Wi-FiWLAN, any smartphone with Wi-Fi capability also connected to the sameWi-Fi WLAN can use an appropriate App to communicate with the Wi-FiControl Module. In this way, a user can enter the command they requireto be executed and send it to the appropriate Wi-Fi Control Module viathe Wi-Fi WLAN. In this case the smartphone can be in the vicinity ofthe Wi-Fi WLAN access point, or the smartphone could be at a remotelocation and communicate with the Wi-Fi WLAN access point via theInternet.

It can be appreciated that a Wi-Fi Control Module operating as a Wi-FiDirect access point/group participant can communicate directly with asmartphone without the requirement of a Wi-Fi WLAN. In this case, theWi-Fi Control Module appears as a Wi-Fi access point if the personalcontroller is not using Wi-Fi Direct to communicate with the PowerControl Device; or if the personal controller is using Wi-Fi Direct tocommunicate, negotiates between the Wi-Fi Control Module and thepersonal controller which of the Power Control Device and personalcontroller will assume a Wi-Fi Direct group owner role and establishes apeer-to-peer connection. The user is then able to send commands directlyto the selected Wi-Fi Control Module without the need for any otherdevice. In this case, the Wi-Fi Control Module and smartphonecommunicate directly with each other, but only if they are withinwireless range.

A Power Control Device or Power Control Unit may be formed by thecombination of a Wi-Fi Control Module and Power Control Circuits. ThePower Control Circuits perform the switching and/or regulation ofelectricity to attached electrical, electronic or lighting equipmentand/or devices in accordance with instructions from the user via thesmartphone.

The Power Control Circuits can be co-located and execute the usercontrol functions. Examples of power control circuits that may becontrolled by the Wi-Fi Control Module are described in more detail inPCT Application No. PCT/AU2011/00166, filed Dec. 29, 2011, titled“Wireless Power, Light and Automation Control,” the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

It can be appreciated that in power, light and automation controlapplications, some applications are more suited to Wi-Fi WLANconfigurations while others are more suited to Wi-Fi Directconfigurations. For example, if one application requires the Wi-FiControl Module to be part of a Wi-Fi WLAN and another applicationrequires the Wi-Fi Control Module to provide a Wi-Fi Direct peer-to-peerconnection, it can be seen that these functions would normally requireindividual specific control devices to be installed.

In another embodiment, the present application can provide a dual mode,single radio Wi-Fi Control Module which in a first mode may provide aWi-Fi Direct peer-to-peer connection to a smartphone and in a secondmode can be configured by the user to connect to a Wi-Fi WLAN. If thesmartphone supports Wi-Fi Direct, the smartphone and the Wi-Fi ControlModule will negotiate with each other as to which will be the groupowner.

The Power Control Unit has its Wi-Fi Control Module set to initiallyfunction in Wi-Fi Direct access point/group participant modeirrespective of its final configuration. Because the Wi-Fi Direct accesspoint/group participant mode is a peer-to-peer connection, as soon aspower is applied to the Wi-Fi Control Module, it can be recognized by asmartphone and a wireless communications link can be established. Oncethe link is established, the user is able to activate a smartphone Appwhich establishes a data path between the smartphone and the Wi-FiControl Module. Using the smartphone App, the user can set theoperational parameters required for a Wi-Fi WLAN or Wi-Fi Direct device,name the device, set an encryption key, enter a password and any otherrequirements. When this procedure is completed the user can command theWi-Fi Control Module to “restart” at which time it will configure itselfto only recognize the parameters which have been specified during thesetup process.

If the Wi-Fi Control Module is configured to operate as a Wi-Fi Directdevice, it would continue to do so. The Wi-Fi Control Module would onlyconnect to smartphones which can fully comply with its connectionrequirements to establish a communications link.

If the Wi-Fi Control Module is configured to operate as a Wi-Fi WLANdevice, the smartphone App would configure the Wi-Fi Control Module forconnection to a Wi-Fi WLAN. When the Wi-Fi Control Module is “restarted”it would appear as a client device on the Wi-Fi WLAN and would only beaccessible to devices which are also connected to the same Wi-Fi WLAN.

In either mode, once the Wi-Fi Control Module has been configured, thesmartphone App can be used to control the functions of the device. Inthe Wi-Fi WLAN mode the smartphone App communicates with the selectedWi-Fi Control Module via the Wi-Fi WLAN access point. In the Wi-FiDirect mode, the smartphone App communicates directly with the selectedWi-Fi Control Module.

There are applications where it may be preferable to have a PowerControl Module provide both a Wi-Fi WLAN and a Wi-Fi Direct connectionsimultaneously or concurrently (Concurrent Connections). With such aPower Control Unit the user could allow third parties to control thePower Control Unit functions via a Wi-Fi Direct connection, but notallow access to the concurrent Wi-Fi WLAN connection, thus preventingaccess to other WLAN devices.

The present disclosure in another embodiment provides for a dual mode,dual radio Power Control Unit incorporating two Wi-Fi Control Moduleswhere each module can be configured by the user to be a Wi-Fi WLANdevice or a Wi-Fi Direct device. The dual mode, dual radio Power ControlUnit is able to provide simultaneous or Concurrent Connections.

The present disclosure in another embodiment provides a dual mode,single radio Wi-Fi Control Module which can provide ConcurrentConnections by means of virtual channels. Each virtual channel can beconfigured by the user to appear as a Wi-Fi WLAN device or a Wi-FiDirect device, where each connection may be formed on the same or adifferent physical channel. The methods to create virtual channels arealready known to those skilled in the art and are not described herein.

The present disclosure in a further embodiment provides a Power ControlUnit for controlling lights with the ability to run a scheduleconfigured by an applications program, or Product App, running on asmartphone, the schedule specifying the operating times and dimming ofattached lights, the command instructions being transferred from asmartphone to the Power Control Unit through a peer-to-peercommunications link. The Product App is able to determine its globallocation from the smartphone location capability and offer a DefaultSchedule of on/off times based on specific sunset/sunrise with daylightsavings correction and/or business hours with public holiday profilesand special events and/or other conditional elements for the specificlocation that the smartphone location capability reports as its currentglobal position. The Default Schedule may be pre-stored in the ProductApp or may be downloaded by the Product App from a remote server usingthe smartphone's cellular or Wi-Fi communications, the operation ofwhich is well known to those skilled in the art. The Product App willallow for user customization of a Default Schedule for the specificapplication, including adjustment of times for a light, bank of lights,or many banks of lights either individually or as groups, and mayinclude the ability to set dimming levels of lights individually or asgroups with the possibility to have various dimming scenes over time.

In another embodiment, schedules to be programmed into the power controlunit via the Product App may be verified through a Preview Mode wherethe Product App controls power control unit parameters through thepeer-to-peer communications link between smartphone and power controlunit, allowing the Product App to simulate the programmed schedule atany particular time in a similar fashion to fast forwarding or rewindinga movie on a video recorder. In one aspect, the Product App may displaya dynamic graphical representation of the time and light parameterscorresponding to the parameters programmed for that time in order toidentify how lights will react as Preview Mode runs. The user can fastforward, rewind, play and pause Preview Mode in order to make anynecessary adjustments, which are dynamically updated in the programmedschedule in the Product App. When all edits have been made, the ProductApp can transfer the programmed schedule to power control unit memory inorder to run locally on power control unit.

In another embodiment, the user may run the Preview Mode in a stepfashion where the time period is divided into step segments, the userbeing able to progress the period from one step to the next.

In an additional embodiment, the Product App may execute the PreviewMode by causing a programmed schedule stored in the power control unitto run other than real time.

The Power Control Unit may have an exposed human interface in the formof a switch, or switches, that may allow a user to turn power to lightsoff; turn power to lights on while overriding Power Control Unitprogrammed schedule; or run Power Control Unit programmed schedule.These settings are provided by way of example only. It will beappreciated that other switch configurations and functions may besupported without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Inone embodiment, it may be desirable to have no exposed human interfacein order to reduce the incidence of vandalism or create a highly weatherresistant unit. By way of example only, a typical application of thePower Control Unit could be automatically controlling lights in thesurrounding gardens of a building in Austin Tex., USA. By using thelocation capability on a smartphone, the Product App could present aDefault Schedule with sunset/sunrise times specifically for Austin Tex.,USA. The user could choose to customize the Default Schedule by dimminglights to half power from 1 am until dawn in order to save on energy.The user could then preview the schedule at a rate faster than real timeto determine if the settings are suitable and, when satisfied, programthis into power control unit using a peer-to-peer communications linkbetween smartphone and Power Control Unit for total automation of thelights.

It can be appreciated that the Wi-Fi Control Module can be incorporatedinto many forms of power, light and automation control systems andapplications where power switches, power boards, light switches, lightdimmers, wall switches are some more common examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a moreparticular description of the principles briefly described above will berendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only example embodiments of the disclosure and are not thereforeto be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein aredescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system of a Power Control Unit andsmartphone controller used in a Wi-Fi Direct peer-to-peer communicationslink with each other, and used in a Wi-Fi WLAN in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the Power Control Unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a Serial Peripheral Interface busconnecting a Microcontroller and a Non-volatile Memory which forms aportion of the Power Control Unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a Power Control Unit in accordance withanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing a typical “power up” sequence for asingle channel Power Control Unit initializing in Wi-Fi Direct mode;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a typical “system restart” sequence fora single channel Power Control Unit initializing in Wi-Fi WLAN clientmode;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing a typical “power up” sequence for adual channel Power Control Unit;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing a typical “discovery message” sequencefor a dual channel Power Control Unit;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing a typical “system restart” sequence fora dual channel Power Control Unit initializing in Wi-Fi WLAN clientmode;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a dual radio Wi-Fi SoC in accordance withanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the functional elements of a Power ControlUnit in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is example system of the smartphone of FIG. 1 and itsinteraction with location services, remote data servers and the PowerControl Unit of FIG. 11 running a plurality of lights;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing a sequence of events between a userand an applications program loadable onto the smartphone of FIG. 1 fordiscovery and communication with the Power Control Unit of FIG. 11;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a flow diagram showing a sequence of eventsbetween a user and an applications program loadable onto the smartphoneof FIG. 1 for programming parameters into the Power Control Unit of FIG.11;

FIG. 15A is an example Product App running in preview mode on smartphoneof FIG. 1 using a peer-to-peer communications link with the PowerControl Unit of FIG. 11 to control retail lights in accordance with oneembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 15B is an expanded view of a screen shot of the screen of thesmartphone of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 16 is block diagram of the functional elements of a Power ControlUnit in accordance with a further embodiment of the present disclosureshown operationally connected to a garage door opener;

FIG. 17 is an example Product App running on the smartphone of FIG. 1using a peer-to-peer communications link with the Power Control Unit ofFIG. 16 to control the garage door; and

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram showing a sequence of events between a userand an applications program loadable onto the smartphone of FIG. 1 fordiscovery and communication with the Power Control Unit of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Alternative embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the disclosure disclosed herein. It is intended that thespecification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a truescope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the claims whichfollow.

FIG. 1 is an example system of a typical Wi-Fi WLAN which has an accesspoint 10 as the network control unit or hub. Access point 10 has anInternet connection 12. Wirelessly connected to access point 10 areshown five network clients, although the number of network clients isonly limited by the capabilities of access point 10. The network, forexample, can have access point 10, network client 14 (smart TV), networkclient 16 (computer) and network client 18 (printer).

Smartphone 20 has a user interface in the form of a touch sensitivegraphical screen, a memory for storing the Product App and associateddata, a system processor and location capability. Location capabilityincludes technology for determining relative global position throughsatellite triangulation which may conform to specifications such as theUSA Global Positioning System (GPS), Russian Global Navigation SatelliteSystem (GOLNASS), European Union Galileo Positioning System, ChineseCompass Navigation System, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite Systemor others. Location capability may also include technology fordetermining relative global position based on assisted GPS, syntheticGPS, cell ID, inertial sensors, Bluetooth beacons, terrestrialtransmitters, geomagnetic field techniques or any combination thereofwith, or without, satellite methods.

Communications over the Wi-Fi WLAN pass through access point 10. For asmartphone and a Power Control Unit to communicate with each other viathe Wi-Fi WLAN, they are usually part of the same network. As shown inFIG. 1, smartphone 20 and Power Control Unit 100 are also networkclients of access point 10. For smartphone 20 to communicate with PowerControl Unit 100, it would communicate with access point 10 and theaccess point would pass any messages from smartphone 20 onto PowerControl Unit 100. The same happens for any messages computer 16 sends toPower Control Unit 100. Accordingly, it can be seen that: (1) accesspoint 10 must continuously operate for the network to be available forcommunications; (2) the network is limited to an area which is definedby the maximum radio transmission distance between a network client andthe access point; (3) a network requires an access point and at leastone network client; and (4) at least one network client must be able toconfigure and maintain the access point operations.

To avoid some of the restrictions inherent with a Wi-Fi WLAN, PowerControl Unit 100 may be configured to establish a peer-to-peercommunications link with smartphone 20 as shown in FIG. 1, thusbypassing the Wi-Fi WLAN. In this case the peer-to-peer smartphone canwirelessly connect directly to Power Control Unit 100 without requiringthe services of any additional device. If smartphone 20 is also a Wi-FiDirect device, it will negotiate with Power Control Unit 100 todetermine which of them will be the group owner. The access point/groupowner can set up 1:N connections if allowed so that more than one clientcould have a communications link with the group owner at the same time,for example, in a hub and spoke arrangement where the access point/groupowner is the hub.

Alternatively, the access point/group owner may restrict itself to 1:1connections in which case it will only establish a communication linkwith one peer-to-peer client at a time. For example, in FIG. 1 PowerControl Unit 100 would communicate with one client, smartphone 20, whileoperating in a peer-to-peer mode. Accordingly, it can be seen that: (1)a third device such as access point 10 is not required for peer-to-peercommunications to be established; (2) the communications link may beformed on an “as needed” basis; and (3) that smartphone 20 should bebrought within radio range of the access point/group participant toestablish a communications link.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, Power Control Unit 100 operates byswitching roles between a Wi-Fi WLAN client or a Wi-Fi Direct accesspoint/group participant.

It can be seen by those skilled in the art that both a Wi-Fi WLANconnection and a Wi-Fi Direct peer-to-peer connection between asmartphone controller and a Power Control Unit provide differentfunctionality. The Wi-Fi WLAN allows a Power Control Unit to be operatedremotely by the smartphone via the Internet. Alternatively, Wi-Fi Directpeer-to-peer connection by virtue of its limited range has high securitybecause Power Control Unit 100 can only be operated when the smartphoneis in close proximity. The applicability of the Wi-Fi WLAN and the Wi-FiDirect methods of a Power Control Unit being operated remotely orlocally can be readily appreciated by considering each particularapplication from their convenience and functional safety aspects.

When Power Control Unit 100 is connected to the Wi-Fi WLAN, it operatesas a network client and all communications pass through network accesspoint 10. When Power Control Unit 100 is connected to smartphone 20, itoperates as a Wi-Fi Direct access point/group participant andcommunications are peer-to-peer. It is evident that in terms of theWi-Fi connections the functionality of Power Control Unit 100 operatingas a client is different to Power Control Unit 100 operating as anaccess point/group participant.

In another embodiment of the disclosure, Power Control Unit 100 operatesas a single device capable of operating as a Wi-Fi WLAN client and/or aWi-Fi Direct access point/group participant.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a dual mode, single channel Power ControlUnit 100. Power Control Unit 100 includes a Wi-Fi Control Module 102operatively connected to power control circuits 104. Wi-Fi ControlModule 102 can be configured to be a Wi-Fi WLAN client or a Wi-Fi Directaccess point/group participant such as shown in FIG. 1. Wi-Fi ControlModule 102 has three major functional units: RF Amplifier and SwitchingCircuits 106, Wi-Fi SoC 108, and Non-volatile Memory 110.

RF Amplifier and Switching Circuits 106 may include several componentsand arrangements including Power Amplifiers, Low Noise Amplifiers,Baluns, Diplexers, PCB or chip Aerial just to name a few. Particularcomponents and arrangements will depend on the particular systemrequirements. While certain arrangements and functions of thesecomponents are useful for the operation in one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure, they are not the primary focus of thisembodiment and are well understood by those skilled in the art such thata detailed description of RF Amplifier and Switching circuits 106 is notrequired.

As shown in FIG. 2, Wi-Fi SoC 108 is the primary control element and isof the class of integrated circuit components known as a System on Chip(SoC). Wi-Fi SoC 108 has four major sub-systems: a Wi-Fi RadioTransceiver 112, System Support Functions 114, a Microcontroller 115,and a Systems Interface 118.

The Wi-Fi Radio Transceiver of Wi-Fi SoC 108, under the control ofMicrocontroller 115, generates the radio frequency carriers at therequired frequencies, and modulates the carrier with the data to betransferred to a remote device over the wireless communications link.The modulated carrier is sent to RF Amplifier and Switching Circuits 106via Transmit connection (TX) 120 and then to Aerial 122 where it istransmitted wirelessly to the remote device. Modulated carrier receivedfrom the remote device by Aerial 122 is sent from RF Amplifier andSwitching Circuits 106 via receive connection (RX) 124 to the Wi-FiRadio Transceiver of Wi-Fi SoC 108 to be demodulated. The received datais then processed by Microcontroller 115.

System Support Functions 114 of Wi-Fi SoC 108 can provide the ancillaryfunctions required by complex SoC components which, by way of example,may include clock generation and timing, protocol engines, and powermanagement, which are specific to each SoC device. Systems Interface118, which is also specific to each SoC device, provides the physicalconnections between the internal circuits of Wi-Fi SoC 108 and externalcircuits such as Power Control Circuits 104 as shown in FIG. 2, externalmicrocontrollers or other circuits and/or devices. A detailedexplanation of the operation of the System Support Functions and theSystems Interface is not necessary because they would be understood bythose skilled in the art.

The internal program/data memory of Wi-Fi SoC 108 is volatile.Non-volatile Memory 110 is provided to store Wi-Fi Control Module 102firmware for when the device is not powered. It will be appreciated thatsome SoC devices may have internal non-volatile memory which may besubstituted for Non-volatile Memory 110 without departing from the scopeof the disclosure.

Power Control Circuits 104 are shown for completeness and while they arenot part of Wi-Fi Control Module 102, they are part of a particularPower Control Unit 100. Depending on the capability of microcontroller115 of Wi-Fi SoC 108 and the functions required to be performed by PowerControl Circuits 104, Wi-Fi SoC 108 may also directly perform thecontrol functions, or an additional external microcontroller or othercontrol element may be incorporated into Power Control Circuits 104 toexecute the power control functions independent of Wi-Fi SoC 108. Theconnection between Wi-Fi SoC 108 and Power Control Circuits 104 is byInterconnection 125 which may take the appropriate form to meet thesystem interconnection requirements. A detailed description of thefunction and operation of Power Control Circuits 104 is not required forthe understanding of the present disclosure.

In another embodiment of the disclosure, the Wi-Fi Radio Transceiver andMicrocontroller of Wi-Fi SoC 108 may be individual, but connectedelements and it is possible for other functional architectures to bedevised which, while being different in form, are still within the scopeof the disclosure.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, Non-volatile Memory 110 is aseparate component and is of the type called “flash memory” althoughother compatible memory types can be used if desired. Non-volatileMemory 110 is connected to Wi-Fi SoC 108 by an industry standard SerialPeripheral Interface bus or “SPI” bus 128 although other suitable bus orconnection arrangements and protocols may also be used and are withinthe scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing Wi-Fi SoC 108 connected toNon-volatile Memory 110 via an SPI bus. Wi-Fi SoC 108 can be the masterdevice and controls the transfer of data over the SPI bus. Non-volatileMemory 110 is the slave device and responds to commands from Wi-Fi SoC108. Wi-Fi SoC 108 master SPI bus interface 130 and Non-volatile Memoryslave SPI bus interface 132 each includes four data connections beingSCLK (serial clock), MOSI (master output, slave input), MISO (masterinput, slave output) and SS (slave select). The operation of the SPI busis already known to those skilled in the art and is not describedherein. Other data transfer schemes for exchanging data between Wi-FiSoC 108 and Non-volatile Memory 110 may be used instead of the SPI buswithout departing from the scope of the disclosure.

When the Power Control Unit is manufactured, Non-volatile Memory 110holds two firmware control programs: one to operate Wi-Fi SoC 108 as aWi-Fi WLAN client and the other to operate Wi-Fi SoC 108 as a Wi-FiDirect access point/group participant. A Wi-Fi Mode Select flag inNon-volatile Memory 110 is initially set to Wi-Fi Direct mode so whenpower is applied, Power Control Unit 100 initializes as a Wi-Fi Directaccess point/group participant. An exemplary “power-up” sequence isshown in FIG. 5.

Having described the components of the Power Control Unit, a method 300for powering-up the Power Control Unit will now be described withreference to FIG. 5. In step 302, power is applied to the Power ControlUnit for the first time. In step 304, the SoC microcontroller runs asmall loader program from its own Read Only Memory (ROM) or externalmemory. In step 306, the loader program transfers a systeminitialization program from the non-volatile memory to the SoCmicrocontroller program/data RAM. In step 308, the loader program passescontrol to the initialization program. In step 310, the initializationprogram examines the Wi-Fi mode select flag which is set by default torun the Power Control Unit in Wi-Fi Direct mode. In step 312, theinitialization program transfers the Wi-Fi Direct application firmwarefrom the non-volatile memory to SoC microcontroller program/data RAM. Instep 314, the initialization program passes control to the Wi-Fi Directapplication firmware. In step 316, the Wi-Fi Direct application firmwareruns the Wi-Fi radio transceiver in Wi-Fi Direct mode. In step 318, thePower Control Unit starts transmitting discovery messages or “pings”which can be seen by a smartphone within wireless range. In step 320,the “pings” identify the Power Control Unit as a Wi-Fi Direct accesspoint/group participant with a generic name and ID address common to allPower Control Units when they are first powered on. In step 322, thePower Control Unit and smartphone can establish a communications linkthat may or may not be secured by data encryption. It will beappreciated that the steps described above may be performed in adifferent order, varied, or certain steps added or omitted entirelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Once the Power Control Unit has been powered-up, the user can identifythe presence of the Power Control Unit displayed on the screen of thesmartphone as a new Wi-Fi device which needs to be individualised toallow it to be identified from other similar devices. The method to dothis requires the user to load a related App (Product App). Instructionson how this is done for each smartphone operating system is includedwith the Power Control Unit. The procedure is simple and is similar toloading any other App onto a smartphone.

When the Product App is started, it will identify the Power Control Unitas being a new device. This requires re-configuration as a specificallyselectable device. At this point, the Product App allows the user todetermine if the new Power Control Unit is to remain a Wi-Fi Directaccess point/group participant, or connect to a wireless network andbecome a Wi-Fi WLAN client.

If the user chooses the new Power Control Unit to be a Wi-Fi Directdevice, this is selected as the required option on the smartphone. TheProduct App then leads the user through a series of data inputs usingthe smartphone's graphics touch screen as the input interface. TheProduct App also communicates with the Wi-Fi Direct applications programrunning on the Microcontroller of Wi-Fi SoC 108 and updates the generalparameters used for the initial connection with the smartphone tospecific parameters which define the Power Control Unit as a uniqueWi-Fi Direct product. These may include: (1) setting a unique encryptionkey so all data transfers between the Power Control Unit and thesmartphone are protected; (2) setting the Power Control Unit name to aunique, easily recognisable identifier, e.g., from a product name suchas “Power Switch” to “Kitchen TV”; (3) setting the Power Control Unit'sunique Wi-Fi address ID so that it becomes an individual device in itsown right; and (4) setting a password in the Power Control Unit used toestablish a secure link with a smartphone.

The Product App maintains a record of these specific parameters in thememory of the smartphone for future identification of, and connectionto, the Power Control Unit.

Once the setup procedure is completed, the Product App commands thePower Control Unit Wi-Fi Direct application's firmware to “restart”.When the applications firmware restarts, the Power Control Unit willhave its own unique Wi-Fi Direct identity. The smartphone which was usedto set this identity will be able to automatically connect because thenew specific parameters are known. The Product App can be used tocommunicate with the Power Control Unit each time the user selects thatparticular device.

Once a Power Control Unit has been configured, any other smartphone canonly be connected if the user knows the specific parameters that are nowunique to that particular Power Control Unit. If a second smartphonesearches for Wi-Fi access points, it will see the Power Control Unitidentified as, for example, “Kitchen TV” with the characteristic that itis “secure”. To connect to it, the user will have to know the specificpassword allocated to communicate with that specific Power Control Unit,otherwise it will not be able to establish a communications link. If thepassword is known and entered into the smartphone when requested, thecommunication link between the second smartphone and the Power ControlUnit will be established. The Product App is still required to controlthe Power Control Unit and this may have additional securityrequirements depending on the nature of the application.

If, instead of configuring the newly installed Power Control Unit as aWi-Fi Direct access point/group participant, the user chooses it to be aWi-Fi WLAN client, this is selected as the required option and theProduct App determines if there are one or more Wi-Fi WLANs availablefor the Power Control Unit to connect to as a client. The Product Apprequests the user to confirm the network and asks the user to input thenetwork password so the Power Control Unit can connect to the Wi-Fi WLANas a client.

The Product App, via the smartphone, communicates with the Wi-Fi Directapplications program running on the microcontroller of Wi-Fi SoC 108 andsets the parameters which will be needed for the Power Control Unit toestablish itself as a Wi-Fi WLAN client instead of being a Wi-Fi Directaccess point/group participant. When all of the appropriate parametersare known and updated, the Product App commands the Power Control Unitto restart as a Wi-Fi WLAN device. This is a similar procedure to thatwhen power is applied to Power Control Unit for the first time. FIG. 6,by way of example, shows a typical “system restart” sequence.

Referring to FIG. 6, a method 400 for restarting the system is shown anddescribed. In step 402, the initialization program examines the Wi-Fimode select flag which is set to run the Power Control Unit in Wi-FiWLAN mode. In step 404, the initialization program transfers the Wi-FiWLAN application firmware from the non-volatile memory to the SoCmicrocontroller program/data RAM and sets any parameters or IEEE 802.11specifications required for the Power Control Unit to operate as a Wi-FiWLAN client. In step 406, the initialization program transfers controlto the Wi-Fi WLAN applications firmware. In step 408, the Wi-Fi WLANapplication firmware runs the Wi-Fi radio transceiver in Wi-Fi WLANmode. In step 410, the Power Control Unit connects to the Wi-Fi WLAN asa client and is only accessible by the smartphone product app via theWi-Fi WLAN access point. In step 412, the Power Control Unit running asa network client can be controlled by other smartphones as long as theyare on the same Wi-Fi WLAN as a client. It will be appreciated that thesteps described above may be performed in a different order, varied, orcertain steps added or omitted entirely without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure.

Once a Power Control Unit is configured as a Wi-Fi Direct accesspoint/group participant or a Wi-Fi WLAN client, it continues to operatein this mode even after it has been powered off. All of the specificoperating parameters for each mode are saved in Non-volatile Memory 110and are retained if power is lost. When power is restored, themicrocontroller of Wi-Fi SoC 108 powers up in the same Wi-Fi mode as wasrunning before power was removed, and the appropriate firmware andoperating parameters are restored from Non-volatile memory 110.

In another embodiment of the disclosure, a dual mode is supported bydual radios provided by two separate Wi-Fi Wireless Subsystems that canoperate simultaneously and can provide individual and concurrent Wi-FiDirect and Wi-Fi WLAN connections if desired.

FIG. 4 is the block diagram of a dual mode, concurrent connection PowerControl Unit 200 where Wireless Subsystem 234 is configured to be aWi-Fi Direct access point/group participant and Wireless Subsystem 236is configured to be a Wi-Fi WLAN client. Each wireless subsystemincludes a Wi-Fi Control Module such as Wi-Fi Control Module 102described above, and associated Wi-Fi Control Firmware for theparticular configuration.

Wireless Subsystems 234 and 236 may meet the IEEE 802.11 specificationsfor Wi-Fi interworking for their particular configurations and would beconfigured as the factory default settings.

System Microcontroller 238 communicates with each Wireless Subsystem viaelectrical connections 240 which function as an SPI bus and provideindividual data transfer and/or exchanges at high data rates. It will beappreciated that other data transfer arrangements may be used instead ofconnections 240 without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Inan embodiment of the present disclosure, System Microcontroller 238 isthe system master device and via its firmware control program, itoversees the functional operations of both Wireless Subsystems 234, 236and Power Control Circuits 204.

As noted above, Power Control Circuits 204 are not the primary focus ofthis embodiment of the disclosure and a detailed description of thefunction and operation of Power Control Circuits 204 is not required.

When the Power Control Unit is manufactured, packaged and ready fordelivery to an end user, the firmware control program in theNon-volatile Memory of each Wireless Subsystem conforms to the task itwill perform in the Power Control Unit. The firmware of WirelessSubsystem 234 may configure its Wi-Fi Control Module to conform to theWi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Direct specification for access point/groupparticipant application. The firmware of Wireless Subsystem 236 mayconfigure its Wi-Fi Control Module to conform to the Wi-Fi Alliance'sWi-Fi WLAN specification for client applications.

When mains power is applied to the Power Control Unit, both WirelessSubsystems load their firmware control programs from their respectiveNon-volatile Memory and then power down to a sleep mode until commandedby System Microcontroller 238 to execute a function.

For the purposes of this example it is assumed Wireless Subsystems 234and 236 incorporate a Wi-Fi Control Module such as Wi-Fi Control Module102 shown in FIG. 2. Except as already noted, each Wireless Subsystem isidentical and supports SPI bus 240 for communication with SystemMicrocontroller 238. System Microcontroller 238 is the master SPI busdevice and is able to control the functions of Wireless Subsystems 234and 236 selectively and individually using the SPI bus slave selectcontrol. FIG. 7, by way of example, shows a typical “power up” sequence.

Referring to FIG. 7, a method 500 for powering-up Power Control Unit 200is shown and described. In step 502, mains power is applied to the PowerControl Unit. In step 504, the first wireless control module loads theWi-Fi Direct application firmware from is non-volatile memory to its SoCmicrocontroller program/data RAM. In step 506, the second wirelesscontrol module loads the Wi-Fi application firmware from is non-volatilememory to its SoC microcontroller program/data RAM. In step 508, thefirst wireless control module configures itself as a Wi-Fi Direct accesspoint/group participant and then powers down to “sleep” mode. In step510, the second wireless control module configures itself as a Wi-FiDirect access point/group participant and then powers down to “sleep”mode. In step 512, the system microcontroller runs a control programfrom its own non-volatile memory and assumes the role of Power ControlUnit master. It will be appreciated that the steps described above maybe performed in a different order, varied, or certain steps added oromitted entirely without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. It will further be appreciated that one or more steps shownin FIG. 7 may be performed simultaneously in parallel if desired.

At this point of the initialization process, the Power Control Circuitsare inactive because there are no pre-programmed functions in thefactory defaults. The Power Control Unit initialization is started bySystem Microcontroller 238 as the system master. FIG. 8, by way ofexample, shows a typical “discovery message” sequence in Wi-Fi Directmode.

Referring to FIG. 8, a method 600 for a typical “discovery message”sequence is shown and described. In step 602 the system microcontrollercommands the first wireless control module to start searching for auser. In step 604, the first wireless control module runs its Wi-Firadio transceiver in Wi-Fi Direct access point/group participant modeand starts transmitting discovery messages or “pings” which can be seenby a smartphone within range. In step 606, the “pings” identify thePower Control Unit as a Wi-Fi Direct access point/group participant witha generic name and ID address common to all Power Control Units whenthey are first powered on. In step 608, the Power Control Unit andsmartphone can establish a communications link that may or may not besecured by data encryption. It will be appreciated that the stepsdescribed above may be performed in a different order, varied, orcertain steps added or omitted entirely without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure.

It can be appreciated that a Wi-Fi Control Module operating as a Wi-FiDirect access point/group participant can communicate directly with asmartphone without the requirement of a Wi-Fi WLAN. In this case, theWi-Fi Control Module appears as a Wi-Fi access point if the personalcontroller is not using Wi-Fi Direct to communicate with the PowerControl Unit; or if the personal controller is using Wi-Fi Direct tocommunicate, negotiates between the Wi-Fi Control Module and thepersonal controller which of the Power Control Unit and personalcontroller will assume a Wi-Fi Direct group owner role and establishes apeer-to-peer connection. The user is then able to send commands directlyto the selected Wi-Fi Control Module without the need for any otherdevice. In this case, the Wi-Fi Control Module and smartphonecommunicate directly with each other, but only if they are withinwireless range. The method to do this has the user loading a relatedProduct App. Instructions on how this is done for each smartphoneoperating system is included with the Power Control Unit. The procedureis simple and is similar to loading any other App onto a smartphone.

When the Product App is installed and is started, it will identify thePower Control Unit as being a new device which needs to be re-configuredin order to become a specific, individually selectable device.

At this point the Product App allows the user to determine if the newPower Control Unit is: (1) to remain a Wi-Fi Direct access point/groupparticipant only; or (2) connect to a WLAN and become a Wi-Fi WLANclient only; or (3) operate as a concurrent device being simultaneouslya Wi-Fi Direct access point/group participant and a Wi-Fi WLAN client.

If the user desires the new Power Control Unit to be a Wi-Fi Directdevice so that communications between it and a smartphone are by adirect peer-to-peer communications link only, this is selected as therequested option on the smartphone. The Product App then leads the userthrough a series of data inputs using the smartphone's graphics touchscreen as the input interface. The Product App also communicates withthe applications program of System Microcontroller 238, which updatesthe general parameters used for the initial connection with thesmartphone to specific parameters which define the Power Control Unit asa unique Wi-Fi Direct product. These may include: setting a uniqueencryption key so all data transfers between the Power Control Unit andthe smartphone are protected; setting the Power Control Unit name to aunique, easily recognisable identifier, e.g., from a product name suchas “Power Switch” to “Kitchen TV”; setting the Power Control Unit'sunique Wi-Fi address ID so that it becomes an individual device in itsown right; setting a password in the Power Control Unit used toestablish a secure link with a smartphone.

The Product App maintains a record of these specific parameters in thesmartphone memory for future identification of, and connection to, thenew specific Power Control Unit.

Once the setup procedure is completed, the Product App commands thePower Control Unit System Microcontroller 238 to restart WirelessSubsystem 234. When the restart completes, the Power Control Unit willhave its own unique Wi-Fi Direct identity. The smartphone which was usedto set this identity will be able to automatically connect each time theuser selects that particular device because the new specific parametersare known.

Once a Power Control Unit has been configured as a specific unit, anyother smartphone can also be connected, but only if the user knows thespecific parameters that are now unique to that particular Power ControlUnit. The procedure to connect another smartphone to the dual mode, dualchannel Power Control Unit is the same as for the dual mode, singlechannel Power Control Unit described previously.

If, instead of configuring the newly installed Power Control Unit as aWi-Fi Direct access point/group participant, the user wishes the PowerControl Unit to be a Wi-Fi WLAN client, this option is selected as thechoice and the Product App determines if there are one or more Wi-FiWLANs available for the Power Control Unit to connect to as a client.The Product App requests the user to confirm the network and asks theuser to input the network password so the Power Control Unit can connectto the Wi-Fi WLAN as a client.

The Product App communicates with System Microcontroller 238 via theWi-Fi Direct communications link and sets the parameters which will beneeded for the Power Control Unit to establish itself as a Wi-Fi WLANclient instead of being a Wi-Fi Direct access point/group participant.When all of the appropriate parameters are known and updated, theProduct App commands the Power Control Unit System Microcontroller 238to initialize Wireless Subsystem 236 as a Wi-Fi WLAN client. This is asimilar procedure to establishing the Wi-Fi Direct connection when poweris applied to Power Control Unit for the first time. FIG. 9, by way ofexample, shows a typical “system restart” sequence.

Referring to FIG. 9, a method 700 for re-starting Power Control Unit 200is shown and described. In step 702, the system microcontroller sets anyparameters or IEEE 802.11 specifications required for the secondwireless control module to operate as a Wi-Fi WLAN client. In step 704,the second wireless control module runs its Wi-Fi radio transceiver inWi-Fi WLAN mode. In step 706, the Power Control Unit connects to theWi-Fi WLAN as a client. In step 708, the system microcontroller confirmsto the Product App that the Wi-Fi WLAN client connection is active andthen commands the first wireless control module to disconnect the Wi-FiDirect communications link and enter “sleep” mode. In step 710, allcommunications between the smartphone and the Power Control Unit arethen made via the Wi-Fi WLAN access point. It will be appreciated thatthe steps described above may be performed in a different order, varied,or certain steps added or omitted entirely without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

There are applications for a Power Control Unit where concurrent Wi-FiDirect and Wi-Fi WLAN capability is desirable. In this situation, theuser via the Product App can enable both Wi-Fi modes to remain active,allowing either mode to be used. Equally, the user, via the Product App,can choose to disable one of the modes, or can change the Wi-Fi modefrom Wi-Fi Direct to Wi-Fi WLAN, or vice versa as desired.

Each time the Wi-Fi mode is changed, the parameters for the new mode areretained by System Microcontroller 238 in the event power isdisconnected or lost. When power is restored, System Microcontroller 238powers up in the same Wi-Fi mode as previously operating before powerwas removed, and the appropriate operating parameters are restored fromthe Non-volatile Memory.

It will be envisaged that there may be times when a Power Control Unitmay be moved for a different application where the particular Wi-Fi modemay not be suitable, or the original Wi-Fi WLAN may not be available.The Product App is configured to communicate with a Power Control Unitand command it to re-initialise to the factory default configuration. Inthis case, all user-defined parameters that were loaded into the PowerControl Unit are lost and when the unit is next powered up, it will bein its factory default state, ready to receive user-defined parameters.

The Power Control Unit may incorporate a mechanical means such as abutton or switch which the user could activate to cause the PowerControl Unit to re-initialise to the factory default configurationwithout the use of a smartphone or Product App.

The foregoing description is by way of example only, and may be variedconsiderably without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.For example only, the wireless control module may be configured for usewith standards outside the IEEE 802.11 standards. The Power Control Unitmay include only a single wireless control module, or a plurality ofwireless control modules. Such wireless control modules may beintegrated with the microcontroller forming part of the Power ControlUnit and/or connected to the microcontroller through an interface suchas a USB interface. It will be appreciated that the Power Control Unitmay be configured to operate in more than two modes, whether singularly(one at a time), or simultaneously. For example only, the Power ControlUnit may be configured to operate in a peer-to-peer communications modesuch as Wi-Fi Direct, a non-peer-to-peer communications mode whichutilizes an access point, such as Wi-Fi WLAN, or some other form ofpeer-to-peer mode.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a Power Control Unit 800 is shown inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10shows that the dual mode, concurrent connection Power Control Unit maybe configured to operate with a single Wi-Fi SoC, substantiallysimplifying the architecture of the Power Control Unit, as well asreducing its size and cost. Power Control Unit 800 is similar to PowerControl Unit 100 except that it has a Wi-Fi SoC 808 that includes twoWi-Fi radio Transceivers 812 a, 812 b. Transmitter TX connections 820 a,820 b and Receiver connections 824 a, 824 b connect Wi-Fi SoC 808 to theRF Amplifiers and Switching Circuits. Similarly, connections 825, 828connect Wi-Fi SoC 808 to the Power Control Circuits and Non-volatilememory.

It will be further appreciated that a single radio Wi-Fi Control Modulecan provide virtual concurrent connections. Each virtual connection canbe configured by the user to appear as a Wi-Fi WLAN device or a Wi-FiDirect device, where each connection may be formed on a differentphysical channel if so desired. For example, Wi-Fi Control Module 102,shown in FIG. 2, may be configured with virtual concurrent connectionsso that Wi-Fi Control Module 102 may operate in both a peer-to-peer modeand a WLAN mode concurrently.

It will also be appreciated that references to specific modules andsubsystems in the description of the disclosure by way of embodimentsdoes not limit the scope for integration of the component parts into afew or even a single integrated circuit as technology advances in time.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, a Power Control Unit 900 is shown inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11shows Power Control Unit 900 in an environment. Power Control Unit 900has a wireless communications transceiver and controller 902, perpetualclock calendar 904, power control circuits 906, system microcontrollerwith embedded memory 908, and an aerial 910. Perpetual clock calendar904 includes a battery backup enabling real time to be accuratelycalculated even in instances where a mains power outage occurs.

The commands and responses between system microcontroller 908 and thesmartphone are communicated through a radio frequency wireless linksupported by wireless communications transceiver and controller 902 andaerial 910. Depending on cost and the desired operational functions,wireless communications transceiver and controller 902 may include onlya Wi-Fi radio, only a Bluetooth radio, only a NFC radio or combinationof those technologies. The Product App may communicate with any mix ofpower controlling elements and radio technologies which seamlesslyprovide the best communications link as the user moves through acontrolled space. This would allow a controlled space to be restrictedto an approximate small radius from the controller or a large radiuswhich provides increased flexibility for the user in the way the userconfigures and uses an embodiment of the present disclosure.

When the wireless communications transceiver and controller 902 operatesaccording to the Wi-Fi Direct specification, it can communicate withdevices that support Wi-Fi WLAN or Wi-Fi Direct on a peer-to-peer basiswithout the need for any intermediary hardware. Wireless communicationstransceiver and controller 902 is configured to operate according to theWi-Fi Direct specification as both a Wi-Fi Direct group participant andWi-Fi Direct access point, allowing the power control unit to appear toWi-Fi WLAN devices during discovery as a Wi-Fi access point. After beingdiscovered as a Wi-Fi Direct access point, a Wi-Fi Direct device is ableto communicate peer-to-peer with Wi-Fi WLAN devices that support theIEEE 802.11 specification as amended from time to time. In thisinstance, a Wi-Fi WLAN device will receive a device discovery messagefrom the power control unit as if from a Wi-Fi access point and be ableto establish a communications link with a smartphone if the right isgranted by the power control unit. The intricacies of establishing thecommunications link between a Wi-Fi Direct device and Wi-Fi WLAN devicesare defined in the Wi-Fi Alliance specifications and would be understoodby practitioners skilled in communications systems protocols.

Wi-Fi Direct has a number of advantages which simplify communicationsbetween a Power Control Unit and a smartphone operating as a controller.Significant advantages include mobility and portability, where asmartphone and the Power Control Unit only need to be within radio rangeof each other to establish a wireless communications link. Wi-Fi Directalso offers secure communications using Wi-Fi Protected Access protocolsand encryption for transported messages, ensuring the system remainssecure to qualified devices. Most importantly, Wi-Fi Direct allows asmartphone with only Wi-Fi WLAN to engage in peer-to-peer data exchangewith the power control unit even though the smartphone Wi-Fi WLAN wasnever intended to support on-demand peer-to-peer communications.

As smartphones continue to evolve, new models are starting to includeWi-Fi Direct support in addition to Wi-Fi WLAN. In one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, where a Power Control Unit receives a Wi-Fi Directresponse to a device discovery message, the smartphone and Power ControlUnit will negotiate which device will be the group owner in accordancewith the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi Direct specification, as amended from timeto time, and a 1:1 or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi Direct communication link willbe established. The Wi-Fi Direct specification allows any Wi-Fi Directdevice to be a group owner, and depending on the capabilities of thedevice, the negotiation procedure determines the most suitable device toperform this role.

System microcontroller 908 may incorporate a firmware program whichdefines the operation and functions of the Power Control Unit andassumes responsibility for running all program code and system elements,including specifying the operation of wireless communicationstransceiver and controller 902, interrogation of the perpetual clockcalendar 904 and operation of power control circuits 906. Systemmicrocontroller includes non-volatile memory to store any program datareceived from the Product App.

In one embodiment, power control circuits 906 may include a single relayconfigured to vary the supply of power to attached lights in a simpleon/off fashion. In another embodiment, power control circuits 906 mayinclude a number of relays configured to vary the supply of power todifferent lights or banks of lights in a simple on/off fashion. Inanother embodiment, power control circuits 906 may include a dimmercontrol. The dimmer control is used to vary the amount of powertransferred to attached lights which have the appropriatecharacteristics to allow the light output to be varied anywhere fromfully on to fully off as directed by system microcontroller 908.

A function of the dimmer is to control the amount of light emitted by aconnected individual light or bank of lights. Using a dimmer in powercontrol circuits 906 under the control of system microcontroller 908,the amount of electrical power transferred to the attached light isregulated. Because the electrical load presented to the dimmer controlcan be resistive, inductive or capacitive depending on the light typeand arrangement, the dimmer unit can provide both leading edge andtrailing edge dimming.

System microcontroller 908 has the ability to communicate with externalpower control circuits 914 via a communications link 912, which in anembodiment, is a hardware interface. External power control circuits 914perform the same type of functions as power control circuit 906, exceptbeing external to power control unit 900, allowing an installer to addas many external power control circuits 914 as may be required tocontrol the lighting needs of any particular installation without beinglimited by the number of lights supported by embedded power controlcircuits 906. Power control circuits 914 may also have differentcapabilities to power control circuits 906. Power control circuits 914may include a number of relays configured to vary the supply of power todifferent lights or banks of lights 916 in a simple on/off fashion. Inanother embodiment, power control circuits 914 may include a dimmercontrol and adjust the light output anywhere from fully on to fully offas directed by system microcontroller 908. System microcontroller 908has the ability to automatically interrogate power control circuits 914for capabilities in order to present appropriate controls for the userin the Product App. If system microcontroller is unable to automaticallydetermine power control circuits 914 capabilities, the Product App willallow the user to manually enter power control circuits 914 capabilitiesso that the Product App will only expose controls corresponding with thecapabilities of power control circuits 914.

Power control unit 900 has the ability to support an external controlpanel 922 that interfaces with system microcontroller 908, allowing auser to manually control functions including overriding any programrunning on power control unit 900. External control panel 922 may alsobe used by the user to start any program stored in the Power ControlUnit. These settings are provided by way of example only. It can beappreciated that other switch configurations and functions may besupported without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Inone embodiment, it may be desirable to have no exposed human interfacein order to reduce the incidence of vandalism or create a highly weatherresistant unit.

Power Control Unit 900 has the ability to accept data from externalsensors 924 that system microcontroller 908 can use to determined ifprogrammed thresholds have been met in order to execute a command orcommands. By way of example only, external sensor 924 could be a sensormeasuring ambient light, the level of which system microcontroller 908could use as a threshold for causing power control circuits 906 to turnon and off a bank of lights.

It will be appreciated that the system described above can be extendedin many ways without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Power control circuits 914 may be configured to control an externaldevice such as a blind, shutters, gate or door rather than lights,allowing power control unit 900 to manage other external devicesaccording to a programmed schedule.

Communications link 912 may be performed by a wireless link such assub-1 GHz radio rather than hardware interface. Such extension wouldrequire the addition of a supporting radio that may be a transmitteronly, or a transmitter and receiver, depending on power control circuits914 requirements. Supporting radio may be configured by systemmicrocontroller 908 to operate at a number of different carrierfrequencies. Data could be modulated onto those carrier frequencies suchthat the encoded data could be received, decoded and acted upon by acompatible radio receiver in a remote power control circuit to operatelights or a device such as, for example only, a garage door opener,alarm system, boom gate and/or blind system.

Supporting radio may be capable of FSK, GFSK, MSK, OOK or othermodulation methods and be able to operate over a wide frequency rangeincluding the license free Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM)frequencies, or may support specific proprietary standards such asZigbee, Z-wave or equivalents. While these specifications are applicableto most wireless sensor networks, home and building automation, alarmand security systems and industrial monitoring and control, there may beapplications where a system compatible transceiver with specificfrequency and modulation specifications is required. In thesesituations, a specific supporting radio could be provided within theembodiment described herein.

In one embodiment, power control unit 900 may not contain any embeddedpower control circuits and interface entirely with external powercontrol circuits allowing for a custom number of circuits with, orwithout, their own dimming capabilities to be installed to meet theparticular requirements of the application at hand.

FIG. 12 shows smartphone 20 determining its location via a GPS satellite30, accessing remote data server 32 and communicating with power controlunit 900 in order to configure and transfer a program for automating aplurality of lights. Referring to FIG. 11, system microcontroller 908incorporates firmware which defines the operation and functions of thepower control unit. When power is applied to the system microcontrollerfor the first time, it ensures power control circuits 906 and powercontrol circuits 914 are open and no power is sent to the attachedlights or device. System microcontroller 908 then activates wirelesscommunications transceiver and controller 902 and attempts tocommunicate with nearby smartphones.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, when the user touches the Product App iconon touch sensitive graphical screen 22 of smartphone 20, thesmartphone's operating system starts the Product App. The Product Appactivates the wireless communications transceiver and control ofsmartphone 20, which requests the status of any power control units inwireless range. Power control unit 900 responds with a message tosmartphone 20 that includes the type of the power control unit. Oneoption during the pairing process is to allocate a name to the powercontrol unit so it can be easily identified by the user. This isparticularly useful for more complex arrangements where multiple powercontrol units are present.

Prior to being able to communicate with each other, smartphone 20 andpower control unit 900 are paired using the Wi-Fi Direct access point orgroup participant pairing procedure according to specifications outlinedby the Wi-Fi Alliance. This only needs to be done once and then eachtime smartphone 20 is within wireless range of power control unit 900,smartphone 20 can initiate a dialog using the exchange of serial datacommands and responses. Accordingly, smartphone 20 can send commands topower control unit 900 which, under the control of systemmicrocontroller 908 and its firmware, will execute those commands.

Smartphone 20 may be configured to setup a wireless link with a pairedpower control unit 900, but the program data which causes power controlunit 900 to execute one or more of its functions is generated by theProduct App. The Product App determines the commands and responsessmartphone 20 exchanges with power control unit 900.

The Product App is activated and controlled by the user through thesmartphone's touch sensitive graphics screen 22. The Product App may bepreloaded on a specific device, or could be downloaded from anappropriate server through a wireless network, Internet and/or computer.The Product App is designed to translate a user's requests inputted bythe user via the smartphone's graphics screen 22 into specific commandsthat are transferred to the power control unit 900 through thetransmitter of smartphone 20 to wireless communications and transceivercontrol 902 of the power control unit.

The Product App presents its control interface as a combination ofgraphics and text on graphics screen 22. Graphics screen 22 is alsotouch-sensitive, allowing the Product App to present a graphical pictureof options to the user and then determine which of the options the userwants by determining how and where the user responds by touching thegraphics screen. Typically the Product App will be activated by the usertouching an icon on the graphics screen. The operating system will loadthe Product App as the current operating app so the user can proceedwith instructions to the paired power control unit.

An important consideration in using touch sensitive graphics screen 22as the interface between the smartphone and the user is the ease thatthe graphical presentation can be changed for different languages. Whilethe icon images may remain the same, the graphical interface allows thetext of, for example, an alphabetic language such as English to bereplaced with, for example, a pictorial language such as Japanese bychanging the graphics displayed on the graphics screen. The underlyingfunctions represented on the screen respond to the user's selection bytouch irrespective of the language used for the display.

The Product App's primary role is as an interface for users to programor modify lighting parameters under the control of power control unit900 including schedule data specifying the operating times and/ordimming levels where supported by power control circuits. It can beappreciated that in many instances it may be favourable for lights torun automated according to reoccurring events. An example of this isturning a light on at a particular time each evening, most commonlydusk, and off again in the morning, most commonly at dawn. The abilityto offer a generic schedule for events such as sunrise and sunset orbusiness hours is problematic in that these times vary for each locationdepending on factors such as season, time zone, latitude, longitude,trading laws, religious festivals, public holidays, etc.

The Product App can offer users the ability to program lighting sceneswith the assistance of a Default Schedule. A Default Schedule includeson/off times based on specific sunset/sunrise with daylight savingscorrection, business hours with public holiday profiles, religiousholidays, special events, other parameters specific to a particularlocation, or a combination thereof; having been compiled for regions andtime zones around the world.

If a user chooses to work from a Default Schedule, the Product App mayask the user if the lighting to be programmed is indoors, outdoors,business, business type, private, or a combination thereof in order tooffer a Default Schedule most suited to the user's situation. It can beappreciated that different or additional parameters may be offered tocompile a more tailored Default Schedule without departing from thespirit of the disclosure. It can also be appreciated that the ProductApp may allow for users to be charged a fee for Default Schedules.

If the user chooses to run a Default Schedule, the Product App is ableto access location data through an application layer in the operatingsystem associated with the smartphone. The ability for the Product Appto access location data is a feature common to all current smartphoneoperating systems, the mechanics of which would be understood by thoseskilled in the art of application development.

As shown in FIG. 12, location capability of Smartphone 20 is able todetermine its global position through GPS using satellite 30. Becauselocation data is typically a core service of smartphone operatingsystems, the present disclosure is not limited to using GPS and canequally accept location data from other technologies the smartphone maybe using such as, by way of example only, assisted GPS, synthetic GPS,cell ID, inertial sensors, Bluetooth beacons, terrestrial transmitters,or geomagnetic field techniques. If for some reason the Product App isunable to fix a global position from the smartphone location capability,the user may manually enter location into the Product App using thetouch screen interface.

Once the Product App has determined its global location from thesmartphone location capability or user input, it will verify if aDefault Schedule is available. The Default Schedule may be pre-stored inthe Product App or may be downloaded by the Product App from remoteserver 32. If a Default Schedule is not available for the location, theProduct App will offer the user the next closest location for which aDefault Schedule is available. If next closest location is not suitablefor the user, the Product App will allow the user to manually enter allparameters.

In the instance that a Default Schedule needs to be downloaded, thesmartphone's wireless communications transceiver and control can usesmartphone's cellular or Wi-Fi communications to access remote server 32and transfer Default Schedule into the Product App.

The Product App will allow for the user to customize and manipulateparameters of Default Schedule for the specific application, includingscheduling and adjustment of times for a light, bank of lights, or manybanks of lights either individually or as groups, and may include theability to set dimming levels of lights individually or as groups withthe possibility to have various dimming scenes over time.

During programming of lighting parameters and scheduling, smartphone 20maintains an active peer-to-peer link with power control unit 900,allowing the Product App to send commands to system microcontroller 908,causing it to adjust the power control circuits so that users canpreview how adjustments in the Product App appear on the lighting insitu. The Product App allows the user through the smartphone touchscreen to select different time periods for which lighting events havebeen programmed into the Product App, with the Product App sendingcommands to system microcontroller 908 causing it to adjust the powercontrol circuits for all parameters that have been programmed for thatcorresponding time period in order to preview a lighting scene in orderto verify if any adjustments need to be made.

When the user has completed programming in the Product App, the ProductApp using the peer-to-peer link between smartphone 20 and the powercontrol circuits will transfer program data to Power Control Unit 900 tobe run by system microcontroller 908 in executing schedules andparameters programmed by the user in the Product App giving effect toautomated lighting scenes.

Referring again to FIG. 11, because default schedules and otherfunctions on Power Control Unit are time dependant, Power Control Unit900 includes perpetual clock calendar 904 that system microcontroller908 uses to maintain a highly accurate internal clock calendar.Perpetual clock calendar 904 includes battery power backup allowing itto continue running in case of mains power outage. On the successfulestablishment of a peer-to-peer communications link, systemmicrocontroller 908 requests from the Product App current clock calendardata in order to verify perpetual clock calendar 904 is operating insync with the user's smartphone. System microcontroller 908 has theability to set perpetual clock calendar 904 current time and date basedon clock calendar data from the Product App to ensure seamlesssynchronicity with the user's smartphone.

Having described the components of Power Control Unit 900, a method ofuse will now be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 isa flow diagram of a method 1000 that includes actions taken by a user todiscover and open communications with a Power Control Unit in accordancewith the user's instructions. Such actions are conveyed to a PowerControl Unit by touching the available options presented by the ProductApp for that particular Power Control Unit. Referring to FIG. 13, instep 1002, the user switches the smartphone ON and the smartphoneoperating system displays a number of icons on its graphics screen. Theuser may have to scroll or page the display to locate the icon for theProduct App depending on the smartphone operating system. Once located,in step 1004 the user touches the Product App icon and the Product Appactivates. In step 1006 the Product App checks to see if the radio isactive and if not, requests the user to turn it on. In someimplementations, the Product App may automatically turn the radio on.Once on, the Product App in step 1008 scans its radio frequencieslooking for Power Control Units within wireless communications range. Ifin step 1010 no Power Control Units are detected, the Product Appproceeds to step 1012 and advises the user. In step 1014, if one or morePower Control Units are detected, the Product App determines their nameand type and displays this information to the user on the smartphone'sgraphical screen. If the user selects one of the displayed Power ControlUnit's icon in step 1016, the Product App in step 1018 then displays anyprerequisites for establishing a peer-to-peer communications linkbetween the smartphone and Power Control Unit, the correct completion ofwhich will establish a peer-to-peer link. Such prerequisites may includepasswords or other security measures. If the smartphone and PowerControl Unit have previously established a peer-to-peer link, protocolsfor establishing a new link may be automatically exchanged and a linkestablished on the user selecting the Power Control Unit at step 1016.

It will be appreciated that the steps described above may be performedin a different order, varied, or certain steps added or omitted entirelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a flow diagram of a method 1100 that includesactions, commands and responses between a user and the smartphone, andthe smartphone and the Power Control Unit to program a Power ControlUnit with automated lighting scenes. In one embodiment, the Product Appdynamically stores all of the user's edits as the user progressesthrough each step of programming. In step 1102, smartphone and PowerControl Unit establish a peer-to-peer communications link. In step 1104,Power Control Unit reports to the Product App functions that PowerControl Unit is able to perform, the Product App then displayingavailable options to the user. In step 1106, the user through thesmartphone touch screen, is able to select parameters they wish to setor edit. Selecting a particular parameter will expose the controlsnecessary for making adjustments to that parameter on the smartphonetouch screen. There may be a number of parameters defined by the ProductApp as location dependant in that an associated Default Schedule may beavailable to assist in the programming of that parameter. By way ofexample only, this may be the Product App offering a Default Schedule toprogram lighting on and off times.

If the function the user selects is not defined by the Product App aslocation dependant, the user will be presented with the controlsnecessary for making adjustments to the selected parameter on thesmartphone touch screen in step 1108. By way of example only, this maybe manually configuring the Product App for an external power controlcircuit that was not automatically detected by system microcontroller.Once the user completes adjustments to the chosen parameter, the ProductApp in step 1110 asks the user if they wish to perform any furthertasks. If the user chooses the affirmative, the Product App will revertto the main control screen at step 1104 for the chosen Power ControlUnit.

If the user selects a parameter defined by the Product App as locationdependant in step 1106, the Product App will access the locationcapabilities on the smartphone at step 1112 to determine its globalposition. In step 1114, the Product App will ascertain if it candetermine its global position from the smartphone location capabilities.If the Product App cannot determine its global position, or if thecurrent position is unknown, the Product App at step 1116 will allow theuser to manually enter their current location or manually choose from alist of the next closest locations for which Default Schedule data isavailable.

If the user's location can be determined by the Product App at step1114, or if the user has manually entered a location, at step 1116 theProduct App may ask the user to confirm a number of parameters on howlighting is being used and will check to see if a Default Schedule isavailable for the user's global position and application in the ProductApp database stored locally on the smartphone. Examples of parametersthat might be asked of the user could include if lighting is installedin a retail, domestic, residential, commercial, internal or externalenvironment, or any combination thereof. If a Default Schedule is notavailable in the Product App database stored locally on the smartphone,at step 1120 the Product App will access an external database stored ona remote server using either the smartphone cellular or Wi-Ficommunications and at step 1124 will search for a Default Schedule forthe user's global position and application. If a Default Schedule cannotbe found for the user's global position and application at step 1124,the Product App will report this to the user at step 1126 and allow themto manually enter parameters. When the user has finished with parameterchanges at step 1126, the Product App in step 1127 will ask the user ifthey wish to perform any further tasks. If the user chooses theaffirmative, the Product App will revert to the main control screen atstep 1104 for the chosen Power Control Unit. If the user does not haveany further tasks they wish to perform, the Product App at step 1134will ask the user if they wish to preview what they have programmed.

If a Default Schedule for the user's global position is found at step1118 or step 1124, the Product App will present the user with theDefault Schedule parameters on the smartphone touch screen at step 1128.At step 1130, the user has the ability to accept the Default Schedule aspresented, deeply edit the Default Schedule according to theirrequirements, or choose to continue programming without using theDefault Schedule.

When the user has finished with parameter changes at step 1130, theProduct App in step 1132 will ask the user if they wish to perform anyfurther tasks. If the user chooses the affirmative, the Product App willrevert to the main control screen at step 1104 for the chosen PowerControl Unit. If the user does not have any further tasks they wish toperform, the Product App at step 1134 will ask the user if they wish topreview what they have programmed. The Product App will similarly moveto step 1134 where the user doesn't have any further tasks they wish toperform at step 1110.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 14B, if the user chooses to preview what theyhave programmed, the Product App enters preview mode at step 1136 anduses open peer-to-peer communications link with Power Control Unit 900to directly control system microcontroller 908 in adjusting lighting toreplicate a scene as it would appear at the particular time chosen bythe user to preview, allowing the user to verify all parameters asthough the program was running on Power Control Unit 900. The ProductApp controlling the system microcontroller could also replicate changesin lighting scenes over time by allowing a user to preview lightingscenes between a start and finish time, with the Product App causingsystem micro controller 908 to change all parameters in faster than realtime to allow the user to preview a scene in a fast forward format andverify parameters change as expected. At step 1138, the user is asked bythe Product App if they wish to make any changes to the programming. Ifthe user selects the affirmative, they are taken to step 1130 whereparameters of the Default Schedule can be edited. It will be appreciatedthat user at this stage may also wish to change parameters not relatedto a Default Schedule, in which case the user is also given the optionto go to step 1104 in order to modify any parameter associated withPower Control Unit 900.

If the user does not want to preview the program at step 1134, or if theuser does not wish to make any program changes after previewing at step1138, at step 1140 the Product App will compile the programming of theuser and attempt to transmit program data to Power Control Unit viapeer-to-peer communications link between smartphone 20 and Power ControlUnit 900. The Product App will request from Power Control Unitconfirmation that program data has been received.

At step 1142, the Product App analyses the Power Control Unit's responseto the Product App's attempt to transmit program data. At step 1144, ifPower Control Unit does not confirm successful receipt of program data,the Product App will display a message that transfer could not becompleted and await further direction from the user. At step 1146, ifPower Control Unit 400 confirms successful receipt of program data, theProduct App will display a message that the transfer was completed andawait further direction from the user.

It will be appreciated that the steps described above may be performedin a different order, varied, or certain steps added or omitted entirelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIGS. 15A and 15B, a Power Control Unit 1200 is shownin accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.15A shows Power Control Unit 1200 being used in a retail environment todemonstrate the interaction between different aspects of the disclosure.It can be appreciated that the automation of lighting in retail shop 60could be both convenient and offer power savings by efficientlycontrolling lights according to the time of day and trading hours. Byway of example only, retail shop 60 is located on a public street ratherthan inside a shopping mall and is accordingly exposed to daylight.Retail shop 60 has exterior banner lighting 1202, main interior lights1204, interior spotlights 1206, exterior facia lights 1208, interiorfeature lights 1212 and front display lights 1214 for six total lightingzones connected to Power Control Unit 1200 that has power controlcircuits suited to running all six zones independently.

In scheduling scenes for each of the six lighting zones, three variablesshould be considered. The first variable is opening or business hoursthat affect the scheduling of internal lights such as main interiorlights 1204, interior spotlights 1206 and interior feature lights 1212.As used herein, “business hours” are those hours during the day that abusiness entity operates a location with a majority of its employeesbased at that location being present, or is open to the general public.The second variable is the impact of natural daylight that typicallyaffects the scheduling of external lights such as exterior bannerlighting 1202 and exterior facia lights 1208. There are alsoapplications where the scheduling of lighting, such as front displaylights 1214, may be equally affected by both opening hours and daylight.A third possible variable is the application of dimmer settings in thosecases where adjusting the lighting level is advantageous or desired.

A flow of exemplary actions, commands and response between a user andthe smartphone and smartphone and the Power Control Unit being used inconjunction with a plurality of lights, may take the following form.Smartphone 20 establishes a peer-to-peer link with Power Control Unit1200. The Product App interrogates Power Control Unit 1200 forfunctional capabilities and number of power control circuits, therebydefining the number and type of individual zones. The user in theProduct App has the ability to manually enter the number of lightingzones and/or define zone capabilities.

User through the Product App may choose to program on/off times forexterior banner lighting 1202 and exterior facia lights 1208 as a group,thereby applying the same scheduling to both zones. The Product App,having defined the programming of on/off times as a location dependantparameter, asks the user if they would like to use a Default Schedulefor exterior banner lighting 1202 and exterior facia lights 1208. If theuser chooses the affirmative, the Product App may ask the user to defineif the lights are being used for an interior or exterior application. Ifthe user chooses exterior option, the Product App accesses locationservices on smartphone 20, determines its global position, confirms thata Default Schedule for the global position and application is alreadystored locally in the Product App database and loads a Default Scheduleof on/off times corresponding to actual sunrise and sunset times for theglobal position including seasonal and daylight saving adjustments. Forexample only, the user accepts the Default Schedule without wishing tomake any edits. It can be appreciated complex automation programming forthe outside lights that track actual sunrise and sunset times can becompiled in a few simple steps using a smartphone.

The user through the Product App chooses to program on/off times formain interior lights 1204, interior spotlights 1206 and interior featurelights 1212, again as a group, thereby applying the same scheduling toall zones. The Product App, having defined the programming of on/offtimes as a location dependant parameter, asks the user if they wouldlike to use a Default Schedule for main interior lights 1204, interiorspotlights 1206 and interior feature lights 1212. If the user choosesthe affirmative, the Product App may ask the user to define if thelights are being used for an interior or exterior application. Where theuser chooses interior option, the Product App, knowing that interiorlights may be used in commercial, retail or domestic applications, mayfurther ask the user to define the type of use. Where the user selectsretail, the Product App accesses location services on smartphone 20,determines its global position, confirms that a Default Schedule for theglobal position and interior retail application is already storedlocally in the Product App database and loads a Default Schedule ofon/off times corresponding to actual retail opening hours for the globalposition including holiday, seasonal and daylight saving adjustments.The user may optionally decide to edit Default Schedule to adjustoperating time of lights for a number of public holidays. It can beappreciated that in only a few simple steps, complex programming for theinterior lights that track actual retail hours can be quickly compiledand edited.

The user, through the Product App, may program on/off times for frontdisplay lights 1214. The Product App, having defined the programming ofon/off times as a location dependant parameter, asks the user if theywould like to use a Default Schedule for front display lights 1214. Byway of example only, the user chooses to manually program times. Frontdisplay lights 1214 may include dimmer capability. For any light withdimmer capability, the user would be able to set dimmer level in theProduct App including a start time for the dimmer with a correspondinglevel, and an end time for the dimmer with an equal or different level.Where dimmer level at the start differed to the dimmer level at the end,Power Control Unit 1200 would adjust the dimming level incrementallyover the selected time period to vary from the starting level to the endlevel.

Referring to FIG. 15B, after user finishes editing all parameters, theuser may choose to enter preview mode. In preview mode, the Product Appdisplays a screen that visually shows the user a selection of coreparameters and the status of those parameters for various zones. By wayof example only, the Product App screen 1218 shows preview mode displayhaving a clock 1220, counter 1222, days to be previewed 1224, activezones 1226, selected zone 1228, light setting for selected zone 1230,dimmer status for selected zone 1232, dimmer starting level for selectedzone 1234, dimmer ending level for selected zone 1236, dimmer level barfor start or ending as selected 1238, preview start time selector 1240,preview end time selector 1242, preview run/stop button 1244, editbutton 1246, and load button 1248.

Preferably, the preview screen provides a concise graphical userinterface of parameters and their status. The user, through thesmartphone touch screen, is able to set the period they wish the previewto start in preview start time selector 1240. The user selects theperiod they wish the preview to end in the preview end time selector1242. This defines the preview period that is then representedgraphically in clock 1220. At this stage the Product App runs acomparative analysis on the user's programming to see if differentscenes have been set for different days of the week in the chosenpreview period. In the instance that user has compiled different scenesfor different days of the week, the preview screen will offer the userthe ability to select from different groupings of days that share commonprogramming via the days to be previewed section 1224.

After preview period has been defined, the Product App displaysparameters for the start of the preview period including updatingcounter 1222 to the start time of the preview period. Active zones 1226shows all zones associated with a power control unit, highlighting thosezones that are active at the start of the preview period. The user, bytouching selected zone 1228 parameter, can choose a particular zone, orgroup of zones where those zones share common programming, to see activeparameters and dynamically adjust light setting 1230 for the selectedzone, dimmer status 1232 for selected zone, dimmer starting level 1234for selected zone, dimmer ending level 1236 for selected zone, anddimmer level bar 1238 for start or ending as selected during the previewperiod. For those zones that do not have dimmer capabilities, theProduct App will set the dimmer to “off” in dimmer status 1232 for theselected zone and not allow it to activate.

The user starts preview period by touching run/stop button 1244. Whenthe preview starts, the Product App, using a peer-to-peer link withpower control unit 1200, causes the power control circuits to operatefaster than real time under the control of the Product App in accordancewith the parameters programmed for those times selected by the user asthe preview period. Counter 1222 will run faster than real time toprovide a highly accurate reference for the time at which events occur.The user may optionally touch counter 1222 and manually enter a time,causing the preview mode to jump to that time and update all parameterson screen accordingly. The user can pause the preview at any stage bytouching run/stop button 1244 while the preview is running. It will beappreciated that transport controls may be included that are similar toa DVD player with icons and capabilities for play/pause, rewind and fastforward, allowing users to control the running of the preview period ina familiar fashion.

During the preview it may become apparent to the user that deeperediting may be required than the exposed preview mode controls offer.Edit button 1246 allows the user to terminate the preview mode andreturns the user to the main control screen for power control unit 1200in order to edit any parameter. After the user has finished checking aspecific preview period, they can define a new preview period in orderto check multiple scenes in preview mode.

If the user is satisfied with all parameters, pressing load button 1248will cause the Product App to compile all programming data and transferthis using the peer-to-peer link to power control unit 1200 where theprogram will then be able to run locally without any interaction withthe smartphone or the Product App.

If at any stage the power control unit fails to perform any functions asexpected, the user could through the Product App cause the power controlunit to run a self diagnostic and report any errors or issues back tothe Product App for the user to review. The Product App could prepare areport for transmission to an external party for the purposes ofproviding technical support directly from the Product App or by usingemail, short message service, or any other communications methodsupported by the smartphone.

It will be appreciated that the steps described above may be performedin a different order, varied, or certain steps added or omitted entirelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated that the personal controller may be omitted byincorporating certain control and program functions directly into amicroprocessor that is integrated with the wiring of the building. Wherea personal controller is used, instead of, or in addition to a graphicaluser interface, the personal controller may be configured with avoice-activated system that inputs data according to the voice commandsof the user. The details associated with voice-activated technologywould be well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Aspects of the present disclosure may be used in a variety ofenvironments. For example only, street lights commonly rely onindividual light sensors to turn on and off each light. Often, theselight sensors break down, or the light burns out. Government workersusually have to rely on citizens to report burnt-out lights, or paygovernment workers to check the lights after hours. The presentdisclosure, in one embodiment, permits a power control unit to beinstalled in each light fixture. In such an arrangement, governmentworkers may individually or collectively test groups of lightsregardless of the time of day. The advantages of such a system are many.

Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, a Power Control Unit 1300 is shown inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 16shows a block diagram outlining the embodiment of functional elements ofpower control unit 1300, which has a wireless communications transceiverand controller 1302, system microcontroller with embedded memory 1304,power control circuits 1306 with wire terminals 1316, and an aerial1310.

The commands and responses between system microcontroller 1304 and thesmartphone are communicated through a radio frequency wireless linksupported by wireless communications transceiver and controller 1302 andaerial 1310. Depending on cost and the desired operational functions,wireless communications transceiver and controller 1302 may include onlya Wi-Fi radio, only a Bluetooth radio, only a NFC radio or anycombination of those technologies. The Product App may communicate withany mix of power controlling elements and radio technologies whichseamlessly provide the best communications link as the user movesthrough, or into, a controlled space. This allows a controlled space tobe restricted to an approximate small radius from the controller or alarge radius which provides increased flexibility for the user in theway the user configures and uses an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, when wireless communications transceiver andcontroller 1302 operates according to the Wi-Fi Direct specification, itcan communicate with devices that support Wi-Fi WLAN or Wi-Fi Direct ona peer-to-peer basis without the need for any intermediary hardware.Wireless communications transceiver and controller 1302 is configured tooperate as both a Wi-Fi Direct group participant and Wi-Fi Direct accesspoint, allowing power control unit 1300 to appear to Wi-Fi WLAN devicesduring discovery as a Wi-Fi access point. After being discovered as aWi-Fi Direct access point, a Wi-Fi Direct device is able to communicatepeer-to-peer with Wi-Fi WLAN devices that support the IEEE 802.11specification as amended from time to time. In this instance, a Wi-FiWLAN device will receive a device discovery message from the powercontrol unit as if from a Wi-Fi access point and be able to establish acommunications link with a smartphone if the right is granted by thepower control unit. The intricacies and procedures of establishing thecommunications link between a Wi-Fi Direct device and Wi-Fi WLAN devicesare defined in the Wi-Fi Alliance specifications and would be understoodby practitioners skilled in communications systems protocols.

System microcontroller 1304 incorporates a firmware program whichdefines the operation and functions of the power control unit andassumes responsibility for running all program code and system elements,including specifying the operation of wireless communicationstransceiver and controller 1302 and operation of power control circuits1306. System microcontroller 1304 may include non-volatile memory tostore any program data received from the Product App.

Referring to FIG. 16, in one embodiment, power control circuits 1306 mayinclude a switch configured to vary the supply of power to an attachedgarage door or gate mechanism 1314 to execute a simple open/closeoperation. Electrical wiring connected to the wire terminal 1316 isconnected to push button terminal 1308 of a garage door/gate mechanism1314. Push button terminal 1308 is a common feature to most garage doormechanisms and allows for the connection of an external switch 1312 thatcan be used to manually activate a garage door mechanism without the useof a wireless clicker. The power control unit 1300, through powercontrol circuits 1306, is able to replicate the commands of an externalswitch 1312 and by connecting to push button terminal 1308 is able toactivate the garage door/gate mechanism 1314 as though the garagedoor/gate mechanism had received a command from an external switch 1312.Push button terminal 1308 would usually be able to accommodate wiresfrom both the power control circuit and an external switch so that theoperation of an external switch 1312, or of a wireless clicker, ispreserved in controlling the garage door/gate mechanism 1314.

It would be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations of thisconnection method are possible without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure. By way of example only, power control circuits 1306 couldhave an additional wire terminal that allows for an external switch tobe connected to power control unit 1300 so that only one set of wiresfrom wire terminal 1316 connects to push button terminal 1308. Commandsfrom such an external switch may pass through power control circuits1306 to push button terminal 1308.

In another embodiment, power control circuits 1306 may include a numberof relays and a plurality of wire terminals configured to vary thesupply of power to multiple garage door or gate mechanisms.

In another embodiment, power control unit 1300 may have the ability tosupport an external switch that would allow a user to disable or enablewireless communications transceiver and controller 1302. Such could beused by the user to easily put the power control unit into a “standdown” mode when away on vacation to prevent any wireless communication.It can be appreciated that other switch configurations and functions maybe supported without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.In another embodiment, it may be desirable to have no exposed humaninterface in order to reduce the incidence of vandalism or create ahighly weather resistant unit.

In another embodiment, power control unit 1300 may support the input ofdata from an NFC reader connected to the power control unit,transmitting to power control unit wirelessly, or embedded in the powercontrol unit. System microcontroller 1304 may be configured to interpretdata from the NFC reader to determine if it should cause power controlcircuits to open or close a garage door or gate. In some embodiments itmay be preferable for system microcontroller 1304 to use data from theNFC reader to configure the wireless communications transceiver andcontroller 1302 or establish a peer-to-peer connection with a particularpersonal controller.

In another embodiment, it may be preferable for power control circuits1306 to be located outside of power control unit 1300, with powercontrol unit 1300 controlling power control circuits 1306 wirelesslyusing a link such as sub-1 GHz radio rather than a hardware interface.Using this mechanism, a single power control unit could have the abilityto control one or more garage door and/or gate mechanisms in acontrolled area. This extension would utilize a supporting radio tosupplement power control unit 1300. The supporting radio may be atransmitter only, or a transmitter and receiver, depending on theapplication of power control circuits 1306. The supporting radio may beconfigured by the system microcontroller 1304 to operate at a number ofdifferent carrier frequencies. Data could be modulated onto thosecarrier frequencies such that the encoded data could be received,decoded and acted upon by a compatible radio receiver in a remote powercontrol circuit that would then execute commands.

The supporting radio may be capable of FSK, GFSK, MSK, OOK or othermodulation methods and be able to operate over a wide frequency rangeincluding the license free Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM)frequencies, or may support specific proprietary standards such asZigbee and Z-wave. While these specifications are applicable to mostwireless sensor networks, home and building automation, alarm andsecurity systems and industrial monitoring and control, there may beapplications where a system compatible transceiver with specificfrequency and modulation specifications is required. In thesesituations, a specific supporting radio could be provided within theembodiment described herein.

It will be appreciated that the system described above can be extendedin many ways without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.The power control unit may be wholly integrated into a garage doorand/or gate mechanism. Power control circuits 1306 may be configured tocontrol devices such as blinds and shutters rather than garage doors andgates, allowing power control unit 1300 to control a range of productsusing a smartphone.

It will be appreciated that a single smartphone may be utilized with aplurality of power control units Thus, it can be appreciated that asingle smartphone may be used to control unlimited different garagedoors or gates, a task that present typically requires a dedicatedclicker for each garage door or gate mechanism.

It will also be appreciated that a single power control unit may beutilized with a plurality of smartphones. Thus, multiple smartphones maybe used to control the same garage door or gate, a task that presenttypically requires a dedicated clicker for each person wishing tocontrol that garage door or gate mechanism.

FIG. 17 shows an example Product App 1400 running on smartphone 20 usinga peer-to-peer communications link with power control unit 1300 tocontrol a garage door installed in garage 70 in accordance with oneembodiment of the disclosure. When the user touches the Product App iconon the touch sensitive graphical screen 22 of smartphone 20, thesmartphone's operating system starts Product App 1400. The Product Appactivates the wireless communications transceiver and control ofsmartphone 20, which searches for any power control units in wirelessrange. Power control unit 1300 in garage 70 responds with a message tosmartphone 20 that includes the name of the power control unit which isdisplayed by the Product App at 1404. One option during theconfiguration process is to allocate a name to the power control unit soit can be easily identified by the user. This is particularly useful formore complex arrangements where multiple power control units arepresent.

Prior to being able to communicate with each other, smartphone 20 andpower control unit 1300 are paired using the Wi-Fi Direct access pointor group participant pairing procedure according to specificationsoutlined by the Wi-Fi Alliance. This only needs to be done once and theneach time smartphone 20 is within wireless range of power control unit1300, smartphone 20 can initiate a dialog using the exchange of serialdata commands and responses. After a peer-to-peer communications linkhas been established, smartphone 20 can send commands to power controlunit 1300 which, under the control of the system microcontroller 1304and its firmware, will execute those commands.

Smartphone 20 may be configured to setup a wireless link with a pairedpower control unit 1300, but the program data which causes power controlunit 1300 to execute one or more of its functions is generated by theProduct App. The Product App determines the commands and responsessmartphone 20 exchanges with power control unit 1300.

The Product App is activated and controlled by the user through thesmartphone's touch sensitive graphics screen 22. The Product App may bepreloaded on a specific device, or could be downloaded from anappropriate server through a wireless network, Internet or computer.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, the Product App is designed to translate auser's requests inputted by the user via the smartphone's graphicsscreen 22 into specific commands that are transferred to power controlunit 1300 through the transmitter of smartphone 20 to wirelesscommunications transceiver and controller 1302 of power control unit1300. Product App 1400 presents its control interface as a combinationof graphics and text on graphics screen 22.

As shown in FIG. 17, Product App 1400 can display all power controlunits the Product App has been configured to communicate with in theirown individual cells 1402, allowing the Product App to function as awireless interface for multiple power control units. An icon or coloredlight 1406 provides a visually indication if the Product App is able tocommunicate with a particular power control unit in range. Touching thepower control unit name 1404 causes Product App 1400 to establish anactive peer-to-peer link with the power control unit associated withthat cell 1402. If a peer-to-peer connection is successfullyestablished, colored icon 1406 may display a new color to indicate anactive peer-to-peer connection with that particular power control unit.Touching button 1408 may send a command to power control unit 1300,causing it to control garage door 70.

It will be appreciated that the steps described above may be performedin a different order, varied, or certain steps added or omitted entirelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. By way ofexample only, pressing button 1408 may cause Product App 1400 toestablish a peer-to-peer wireless link with the power control unitassociated with button 1408 and then send the control data associatedwith button 1408 in a single sequence rather than require a peer-to-peercommunications link to have already been established with associatedpower control unit prior to pressing button 1408.

Having described the components of Power Control Unit 1300, a method ofuse will now be described with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 is a flowdiagram of a method 1500 that includes actions taken by a user todiscover and open communications with a power control unit in accordancewith the user's instructions. Such actions are conveyed to a powercontrol unit by touching the available options presented by the ProductApp for that particular power control unit. Referring to FIG. 18, instep 1502, the user switches the smartphone ON and the smartphoneoperating system displays a number of icons on its graphics screen. Theuser may have to scroll or page the display to locate the icon for theProduct App depending on the smartphone operating system and userpreference. Once located, in step 1504 the user touches the Product Appicon and the Product App activates. In step 1506 the Product App checksto see if the radio is active and if not, requests the user to turn iton. In some implementations, the Product App may automatically turn theradio on. Once on, the Product App in step 1508 scans its radiofrequencies looking for power control units within wirelesscommunications range. If in step 1510 no power control units aredetected, the Product App proceeds to step 1512 and advises the user. Instep 1514, if one or more power control units are detected, the ProductApp will offer the user an option to add and configure a new powercontrol unit if the Product App and a power control unit have notpreviously negotiated a peer-to-peer link, or will otherwise update thestatus icon 1406 in the power control unit cell 1402 (FIG. 17) toidentify those power control units that are within range to form apeer-to-peer communications link for power control units that havepreviously been configured in the Product App.

If the user selects one of the displayed power control units with anicon indicating the power control unit is within range to form apeer-to-peer communications link in step 1516, the Product App in step1518 will display any prerequisites for establishing a peer-to-peercommunications link between the smartphone and selected power controlunit, the correct completion of which will establish a peer-to-peerlink. Such prerequisites may include passwords or other securitymeasures that may be part of the peer-to-peer standard or an additionalsecurity layer in the Product App or power control unit. If thesmartphone and power control unit have previously established apeer-to-peer link, protocols for establishing a new link may beautomatically exchanged and a link established on the user selectingtheir power control unit at step 1516. If a communications link cannotbe successful established at step 1518 with a selected power controlunit, the Product App will inform the user that link could not beestablished and Product App will then default to step 1508.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, if no power control unit is selected atstep 1516, the Product App will continue to display the status icons1406 of the power control units. The Product App may continually poll,or poll intermittently, to update the status of any paired power controlunits enabling the user to physical move with the smartphone and havethe status icons for each power control unit dynamically update.

If at step 1518 a peer-to-peer communication link is established, atstep 1520 the Product App may update the product cell 1402 with anyspecific function buttons or settings that the power control unit mayreport back to the Product App. By way of example only, this may includean open/close function button and icons or messages identifying errorsituations or other conditions or programmable parameters applicable tothat particular power control unit. If nothing has changed in theconfiguration or operation parameters of the chosen power control unitsince the user last interacted with it, it may be that nothing changesvisually in the Product App cell for that unit.

In step 1522, if the user selects a particular function for the activepower control unit, the product App moves to step 1524 and transmits thefunction command to the power control unit. In step 1526, the ProductApp checks for a response from the power control unit and if it is notreceived, informs the user at step 1528 and waits for the next command.If the power control unit confirms the function has been executed, theProduct App in step 1530 advises the user that the function requestedwas executed and then waits for the next command.

It will be appreciated that the steps described above may be performedin a different order, varied, or certain steps added or omitted entirelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. By way ofexample only, if only one power control unit has been configured in theProduct App, the Product App may automatically establish a peer-to-peerlink if the power control unit is within wireless range. By way ofanother example only, pressing button 1408 may cause Product App 1400 toestablish a peer-to-peer wireless link with the power control unitassociated with button 1408 and then send the control data associatedwith button 1408 all in one series of steps rather than require apeer-to-peer communications link to have already been established withassociated power control unit prior to pressing button 1408.

If at any stage the power control unit fails to perform any functions asexpected, the user could through the Product App cause power controlunit to run a self diagnostic and report any errors or issues back tothe Product App for the user to review. The Product App could prepare areport for transmission to an external party for the purposes ofproviding technical support directly from the Product App or by usingemail, short message service, or any other communications methodsupported by the smartphone. The power control unit could also keep arecord of when and by whom the power control unit was activated whichcould be reported to the Product App.

The Product App may include a voice recognition mode, whereby the userspeaks “open door” and the Product App processes the voice command toestablish a peer-to-peer communications link with a power control unitassociated with that voice command and then sends an “open door”instruction to the power control unit. It will be appreciated that thevoice recognition and activation of a power control unit could beintegrated into separate software applications or core services of anoperating system allowing for voice control of a power control unit bysoftware or a core component running broader services than is providedby the Product App only.

It will be appreciated that the personal controller may be omitted byincorporating certain control and program functions directly into amicroprocessor that is integrated into a vehicle which could becontrolled by a touch user interface, button, voice activation and/or acombination thereof. Where a personal controller is used, instead of, orin addition to a graphical user interface, the personal controller maybe configured with a voice-activated system that inputs data accordingto the voice commands of the user. The details associated withvoice-activated technology would be well understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art.

The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied toother embodiments, or combined with or interchanged with the features ofother embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of thedisclosure disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for controlling an electrical systemwired into a structure through a wireless communications link with apersonal controller so as to control a supply of electricity to theelectrical system, the personal controller having a processor, a userinterface, and a wireless communications transceiver, the systemcomprising: a power control unit including: a radio transceiver, amicrocontroller configured to operate the radio transceiver in more thanone mode to communicate with the personal controller, and an internalpower control circuit configured to vary the supply of electricity tothe at least one electrical system based at least in part oninstructions communicated from the personal controller through the radiotransceiver, said microcontroller being configured in a first mode tooperate said radio transceiver using a peer-to-peer communicationsstandard, said microcontroller being configured in a second mode tooperate said radio transceiver using a non-peer-to-peer communicationsstandard; an external power control circuit integrated into at least aportion of the wiring of at least one of a commercial or residentialstructure, the external power control circuit being configured to varythe supply of electricity to the electrical system based at least inpart on instructions communicated from the personal controller throughthe radio transceiver; and a communications link between the powercontrol unit and the external power control circuit, the microcontrollerof the power control unit being configured to selectively operate theinternal and external power control circuits.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the microcontroller is configured to operate at least one of theinternal and external power control circuits to vary the supply ofelectricity to a lighting system.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein themicrocontroller is configured to operate at least one of the internaland external power control circuits to vary the supply of electricity toat least one of a heating and air conditioning system.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to operate at leastone of the internal and external power control circuits to vary thesupply of electricity to at least one of a blind, shutter, gate or door.5. The system of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured tointerrogate the external power control circuit to ascertain capabilitiesof the external power control circuit.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe communications link includes a hardware interface.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the communications link includes a radio receiver wiredto the external power control circuit and a radio transmitter wired tothe power control unit, the radio transmitter operating at a frequencyof less than 1 GHz.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the communicationslink includes a radio transceiver wired to the external power controlcircuit and a second radio transceiver wired to the power control unit,each of the second radio transceiver of the power control unit and theradio transceiver of the external power control circuit operating at afrequency of less than 1 GHz.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein thecommunications link includes a radio transceiver wired to the externalpower control circuit and a second radio transceiver wired to the powercontrol unit, each of the second radio transceiver of the power controlunit and the radio transceiver of the external power control circuitbeing operable using a Zigbee communications standard.
 10. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the communications standard used by the radiotransceiver to communicate with the personal controller in the firstmode is Wi-Fi Direct.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein themicrocontroller of the power control unit is configured to operate theradio transceiver by simulating a network access point.
 12. A system forcontrolling an electrical system wired into a structure through awireless communications link with a personal controller so as to controla supply of electricity to the electrical system, the personalcontroller having a processor, a user interface, and a wirelesscommunications transceiver, the system comprising: a power control unitincluding a wireless radio transceiver operable for wirelesscommunication with the personal controller, and a microcontrollerconfigured to operate the radio transceiver in more than one mode, saidmicrocontroller being configured in a first mode to operate said radiotransceiver using a peer-to-peer communications standard, saidmicrocontroller being configured in a second mode to operate said radiotransceiver using a non-peer-to-peer communications standard; anexternal power control circuit external to the power control unit, theexternal power control circuit being integrated into at least a portionof the wiring of the commercial or residential structure, the externalpower control circuit being configured to vary the supply of electricityto the at least one electrical system based at least in part oninstructions communicated from the personal controller through the radiotransceiver; and a communications link between the power control unitand the external power control circuit, the microcontroller of the powercontrol unit being configured to operate the external power controlcircuit.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the communications linkincludes a hardware interface.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein thecommunications link includes a radio receiver wired to the externalpower control circuit and a radio transmitter wired to the power controlunit, the radio transmitter operating at a frequency of less than 1 GHz.15. The system of claim 12, wherein the communications link includes aradio transceiver wired to the external power control circuit and asecond radio transceiver wired to the power control unit, each of thesecond radio transceiver of the power control unit and the radiotransceiver of the external power control circuit operating at afrequency of less than 1 GHz.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein thecommunications link includes a radio transceiver wired to the externalpower control circuit and a second radio transceiver wired to the powercontrol unit, each of the second radio transceiver of the power controlunit and the radio transceiver of the external power control circuitbeing operable using a Zigbee communications standard.
 17. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the microcontroller is configured to operate theexternal power control circuit to vary the supply of electricity to alighting system.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein the microcontrolleris configured to operate the external power control circuit to vary thesupply of electricity to at least one of a heating and air conditioningsystem.
 19. The system of claim 12, wherein the microcontroller isconfigured to operate the external power control circuit to vary thesupply of electricity to at least one of a blind, shutter, gate or door.20. The system of claim 12, wherein the microcontroller is configured tointerrogate the external power control circuit to ascertain capabilitiesof the external power control circuit.
 21. The system of claim 12,wherein the power control unit is configured for outdoor placement as ahighly weather resistant unit.